Black and white and something inbetween
by Ginmokusei
Summary: Collection of stories for another favorite pairing: RikuoxYura. Practice: 25 out of 50 one-sentence themes. Plenty of OOC-ness, so you are warned. No shipping flames, please. Thank you.
1. Valentines' Day

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_Nurarihyon: Valentines' Day  
_

_..._

He lived long enough to know what Valentines' Day meant and, though he might not like it so particularly, Nurarihyon would, on a whim, go and get himself some of these 'chocolates' on this day anyway.

Not that he didn't receive enough from his daughter-in-law and other female yokai because, really, he did – every year, too. The reason he got all these 'chocolates'… well, the occasion called for it? He wouldn't be a Nurarihyon if he didn't act on whims, would he?

But could this be considered as one of his whims? Was it on a whim that he accepted this chocolate from her and was now eating it with the girl herself sitting right next to him, crunching away the senbei he gave her?

He bit on another thin piece. Good thing that she won a bitter chocolate rather than a sweet one. He might have to force Nattou Kozou (who was hiding in the bag as usual) to eat them for him, otherwise.

"But rather than sharing chocolates with an old man like me, don't you have someone to give them to, ojousan?" asked Nurarihyon conversationally.

Keikain Yura swallowed and took out another senbei from the plastic bag. Her eating speed hadn't dropped since they saw each other last, it seemed.

"I suppose there are people whom I can give to," said Yura, cracking the senbei in two. "But I really rather _not_ give them. Valentines' Day is so troublesome. Why do we girls have to give boys chocolates? Not only it takes a long time to make, it's _expensive_ to make and sometimes the efforts are not all that appreciated."

"So, you have given out chocolates before?" he was surprised.

"To some of my brothers. I was told that I should do so because it's a custom. It's such a pain since I have so _many_ brothers and I have to _make_ them myself. Ryuuji-oniichan said it would be _impolite_ to give relatives bought chocolates."

Nurarihyon looked at the chocolate box between them. So this was why they were _sharing_ and not her giving it to him.

But wouldn't this be even stranger? After all she found out already that he was a yokai - not just any yokai either but _the_ Nurarihyon that she had wanted to defeat. For such a black-and-white person that he knew she was, this was something that shouldn't have happened at all. The situation was strange. Quite strange, indeed.

Then, breaking the brief silence that had fallen between them, Yura said. "Ojiichan, this has nothing to do with Valentines' Day, all right?" she took a piece of chocolate from the box and bit on it. "If I were to give you a chocolate, I would make them and then give you."

Nurarihyon blinked.

For the third time that day he was surprised. First, he didn't expect to be stopped on his way home from shopping by her of all people. Second, she said she wanted to share chocolates with him on this day of all days. And now she said…this.

Something must have happened. Something must have happened to have changed this black-and-white girl so. He strongly suspected the change to have something to do with that grandson of his. There must be something else that that boy hadn't told him.

It's not a bad change, though, thought Nurarihyon, observing with some amusement how she turned to attack the senbei viciously, frowning and blushing at the same time.

Back then, he had liked her determination and thought she would become a fine onmyouji one day. But hearing these words now he believed that she would definitely become an onmyouji who might even surpass Hidemoto. Even though she was a girl and so young, she had her goal set clear in sight and had both the talents and wills to see it through. Despite being taught what to believe, she chose by herself what she would believe and she stood by them. According to what he had heard, her will was strong enough that she would go so far as to protect his grandson from her own brother while knowing he was part yokai. She dared to defy her onmyouji family's strict, passed-down teachings in order to protect her important friend.

Compared to this girl, he was sure he had been too overprotective of Rikuo. After losing his family one by one, he was just too tired to lose anymore. Rikuo was the last one he had left and if it meant he never became part of the youkai world, if he chose to live as a human, living long and happy, then he would accept it. But…

That boy also had grown and, out of his own will, he wanted to go out and learn more of the world outside. He needed to think and choose for himself, walking on his own paths and facing things that will challenge his person and beliefs. Now that he had chosen, as his grandfather and the Supreme Commander of the yokai he had been leading till now, he just had to provide the very best of 'environment' for him to grow. Sending him to Toono was the right decision.

Nurarihyon took the last piece of the chocolates and popped it into his mouth.

He smiled at the girl who was now looking at him anxiously.

"I'd be very happy if I were to receive a chocolate from you, ojousan." He reached out and patted her head. "Thank you."

Yura blinked, seeming surprised by his action. She didn't look happy about it but she didn't pull away from that aged hand either.

"It's getting dark," said Nurarihyon, standing up. "It's time to head home."

"I…"

He was picking up bags but turned at that quiet voice.

"I believed that you were good. You and he were good people and very kind."

Her head was slightly bowed so he couldn't see her face but he thought he had a fairly good guess of what expression she was wearing at the moment.

She looked up then, and met him straight in the eyes.

"Ojiichan and Nura-kun…I don't believe you two are bad."

Nurarihyon stared at her. For the fourth time he was surprised. For the fourth time he didn't quite know what to say – how to respond to her simple honesty.

"I'm going home," said Yura, hurriedly picking up bags from the ground. "Goodbye, ojiichan. Please take care."

She ran away. Yes, it could be said that she _ran_ away from him, though not without making a quick customary bow first. This girl was one who really observed manners and etiquettes, wasn't she?

Nurarihyon chuckled.

Nattou Kozou's head poked out from one of the bags. "Would you really accept a chocolate from her, Supreme Commander? She's an onmyouji, isn't she?"

"All the more reasons for me to accept, isn't it?" said Nurarihyon, turning to go home. "If an onmyouji dares enough to give a yokai a chocolate, then it would with the same daringness that I, as the Master of all Yokai, should accept it. I doubt that I will receive it, though…"

"Why?"

"By next year, she might already have someone she wants to give chocolate to, you know."

"But who?"

"The _other_ Master of all Yokai, of course."

...

...

...

**Afterthought**

After reading the Valentines' omake in volume 9, I just couldn't help myself but wanting to write it out. I like Yura's interaction with grandpa Nurarihyon and Hidemoto too much. I think her personality is quite similar to Rikuo and, to me, if Nurarihyon was to have a granddaughter, I think it would be someone like Yura.


	2. Wired Conversation

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_Rikuo and Yura: Wired Conversations  
_

_..._

The first time it was him who called her.

They started with the normal "How are you?" and "How's school going?" After a while they touched lightly on the subject of each other's progress in training. They both just finished and were tired. They ended with good luck and take care.

That day happened to be the day she tried her new technique out for the first time. It was horrible. Hidemoto had tried to console her but she couldn't accept it. Drained and miserable as could be, he chanced to call her then. She wondered if she should thank him the next time they talked. If it wasn't for his voice and his normal conversations, she would probably stay depressed into the next day. Drifting off to sleep, her last thought was to ask him next time if he had eaten anything already. She was always hungry after training but lately she was so tired she had forgotten to eat….

…

The second time it was her calling him.

The moment she heard "Yura?" she hung up right away.

On the other side, Rikuo, the Nurarihyon, grimaced at the phone in his hand.

Keikain Yura was one who stuck to her words, wasn't she?

…

The third, the fourth and the fifth time, he called her.

By then, "How are you?" and "How's school?" were asked near the end of their conversations and the answers were hardly listened by either side.

They grew accustomed to each other's voice fast and before they knew it they could guess how the person felt even before the words were said out loud. It's strange how silence could speak so much and could feel so comforting as they spent more time 'talking' on the phone.

At the end of the fifth call, he meant to ask her a question but thought better of it and decided not to. Maybe he could ask her later if it was all right to call a little earlier. His talking to her in the evening seemed to…irritate his other self somehow.

…

The sixth time, she called him. He didn't get to talk much this time.

She had passed the first stage of her training! She was very happy and very – _very_ – worn out. She didn't say the last part out to him but he could tell from her voice. He tried to end the conversation soon, knowing she needed to get some rest. He was surprised when she insisted to continue their conversation. She hadn't heard about his progress yet, she said. She's going to hear it. She might not be able to help him but she wanted to listen to what he had to say. Or would he want to hear her talk better? Last time, the first time they talked on the phone, his normal talks had helped her. Thank you… and don't forget to…eat…properly….

Rikuo blinked, listening to her even breathing from the other side of the line. Did she just…fall asleep on him?

A deep, low chuckle. He closed his eyes and listened. The frustration from failing at the earlier practices he had with Itaku slowly melted away. Much, much later he would tell her - how she didn't hang up on him this one time, how she had talked so much, and how she actually tried to comfort and encourage _him_, the yokai she disliked so much.

"Sleep well, Yura."

…

The seventh time he called her to tell about his encounter with Tooryanse the Slasher. He was coming to the last part concerning the Hundred Tales Clan when her brother came in without knocking. Again.

There was a shriek from her and then bits and pieces of their arguments. Rikuo's eyes widened when he caught the "-on the phone when you are not done changing-"

The next second the phone got cut off.

Nattou Kozou chanced to pass by that moment saw him and asked. "Rikuo-sama, what happened to your nose?"

Hand over his nose, Rikuo turned to go to his room. "Nothing."

Absolutely nothing. He thought of absolutely nothing. Just nothing. Really.

…

The eighth time they talked, she had just returned from an investigation trip with her brother. It had to do with some urban legend. He didn't tell her much and she wondered whether he brought her along solely for convenience.

He wasn't sure if he should tell her about what happened to Torii recently. Could there be a connection between her story and his?

…

The ninth and the tenth time she called him and was told that he was resting, recovering from the incident with the Hundred Tales clan. She was worried. And since her brother wasn't around to eavesdrop, she made herself called a yokai the first time in her life and heard the story out from Karasu Tengu. She knew that her classmates would learn about it eventually – just like how they came to know about her as they were involved during the time with Hagoromo-gitsune. She just didn't expect it to be this soon. Not to mention the fact that the brother, who was supposed to go see Akifusa-niichan, was also there at the Nura clan…

Yura looked at the phone in her hand.

How many months had it been since then? She was in the final stage of her training. His, it seemed, was over before hers and all that was left was for him to go get the finished Nenekirimaru at Mount Osore.

She had to hurry.

…

The twelfth time was the last time they talked together on the phone. She had finished her training and so had he. Necessary arrangements had been made in Kyoto and his grand assembly would be held tomorrow night, after he met and talked to the classmates about what was going to happen during the day.

"It's time I introduce myself and my family to them properly," he said.

"I see," was her quiet return.

Silence. There were no more questions asked and answers replied. The whole purpose of their wired conversation, right from the start, no longer existed now that everything was ready on both sides.

It was late and the half-moon sat in her high throne. The air where she sat watching the sky was still while on his side the wind restlessly rustled the hanging branches around him. She didn't need to ask to know where he was and he didn't need her telling him to know what she was looking at this moment.

The moon shone white and cold. It was a calm night. A calm, calm night.

_The night before the storm._

There were many things they wanted to say. So many things they wished they could put into words and say out loud. But not a single of them… was ever voiced. It's not…quite the right time yet.

Neither of them was in the position to say such things as "What if…" and "Suppose…" They must do what they must and they would see it through to the end. They were going to protect those which were important to them. This wasn't practices and therefore failure wasn't an option.

"Nura-kun…" she started, a note of hesitation in her voice.

"What?"

And only for tonight would she break her own words and pretend that she was talking to the human him.

"Take care." _May the two that makes him this one person be safe._

A brief pause. Then, "…Aa."

She was about to hang up when she heard him called out her name. "Yura."

With the same curt tone she always used when he was in his yokai form, she murmured into the phone. "What?"

"Be careful."

Yura bit her mouth. Of all times to be nice, why now? What was he trying to do, testing her? Did he expect her to give in to her feelings and tell him her doubts and fears of what was to come? She had her prides and she's the one who would become the head of the Keikain one day – as well as the one who would, eventually, defeat him. But of course…

This was all her thinking up on her own. He probably thought none of those things when he said those simple words to her. The uneasiness, the weakness that she felt…she had to get rid of them before tomorrow came.

And she's not going to thank him for pointing this out to her.

She took a deep, quiet breath. And just as calm as he had replied her before, she answered back. "I know."

There's no way she's going to have a yokai worrying for her – just as he wouldn't have an onmyoji worrying for him.

And when they met again on the battlefield, they would fight together side-by-side because they were equals and shared the same goal: to defeat Seimei.

Yura hung up. She turned to look at the moon once more.

_To defeat Seimei. And to protect those that are important to me. Including you._

Under the same sky and distances apart, Rikuo watched that very half-moon, sharing that one thought with her.

She whispered to the still air and he to the passing wind.

"See you."

…


	3. Wisteria Smile

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_Rikuo: Wisteria Smile  
_

_..._

He should have known that Keikain Yura was someone who really kept to her words. And that that trait of hers was very, _very_ irritating.

"So, you are regretting it now that you kicked her off the tree that time?"

He glanced at the newcomer, eyes narrowing dangerously.

His human counterpart smiled calmly back in return and came to sit with him under the swaying branches of the pale blossoms.

Not waiting to be invited, he took the bottle and poured himself a cup of sake.

"Very good," nodded Day Rikuo approvingly. "Must be one of best that grandpa has tried to hide from me. I'm glad you brought it along; the taste is just right for fraying nerves."

Night Rikuo leveled a glare at him. He knew _he_ realized the warning in it very well but chose to ignore and continue, pushing further the near-snapping patience.

"Keikain-san has become quite strong, hasn't she?" said Day Rikuo in his most conversational tone. "She was able to hold on long enough till we got here. Then, it was quite nice that she could take care of herself and not needing protection when we fought with Hiruko, wasn't it? That's right, she helped _you_ out one time, too, didn't she, when you were caught in that guy's vines. And if it wasn't for her taking down that giant snake, maybe we might have to wait for Tamazuki and Dassai to come help after they finished with their opponents." He finished the sake and sighed happily. "Good sake."

"If you have something to say then just say it," growled Night Rikuo, red eyes deepening by several shades.

Day Rikuo, smiling ever so slightly, filled his empty cup with some more sake. If he noticed the sudden appearance of Nenekirimaru in the Nurarihyon's hand, he didn't show it.

A gentle breeze passed by, rustling the long branches, scattering the snow-like petals down and all around them.

The human looked up to admire the scene while the yokai took this time to pace his breathing, trying to keep his growing impatience in check.

As though he just felt the tension, Day Rikuo shifted his mild gaze to Night Rikuo. What he saw made him laugh, a little.

Putting the cup down, he smiled at him, and, very pleasant so, delivered his final, direct blow.

"You are jealous, aren't you?"

Silver white flashed out and the cold scrape of metal clashing against metal echoed in the silence of the dark night, filled with light of the half-moon and the dancing flower petals.

…

_"Which part of the language do you _not_ understand? I say I'm _not_ hungry and I'm _not_ eating and I mean I'm _not_ hungry and I'm _not_ eating!"_

_He glared at her, trying hard – trying _very_ hard – not to give in to the urge to shove the food down her throat._

_Yura glared back at him - its effect, however, instantly ruined by the loud grumbling from her stomach._

_"Wow, that's one loud complaint there," said Dassai from the side, looking quite impressed._

_On the other side, Tamazuki pretended none of these idiots was in the same room as him._

_Rikuo smirked at her._

_Yura, face very red, got up. "Anyway, I'm not eating! So, leave me alone!"_

_That said, she stomped off, closing the door behind her with enough force to near break it._

_"What a lively little miss…" commented Dassai and went back to his drinking._

_Tamazuki glanced at Rikuo's direction. _

_The Third head of the Nura clan poured himself a cup of sake and drank it. He seemed as though he couldn't care less if she went and starved herself to death but since he was Tamazuki – _the_ Inugamigyoubu Tamazuki, Lord of the Shikoku Hachijuu Hyakki Yakou – who happened to live far longer than this brat had, he knew exactly what the light that had come into those red eyes, and disappeared, meant._

_A slow smile came to his mouth. He turned form the sight, stroking the head of the whining dog lightly. Ah, but this was getting quite interesting. As petty and ridiculous as all this was, it was becoming interesting, indeed. Here's something to add to the list to use against the annoying brat in the future. He would make sure he used it._

_Then, Rikuo got up. Without the customary excuses that the host should make when he left the guests, he walked toward the door, opened, and slid it close behind him. Normally._

_Well, the door was broken anyway._

_At least Tamazuki and Dassai knew it to be so, and neither cared about it. It's not like either of them would be the one opening it. That door would fall away in pieces the instant it was touched, so let's wait and see who would be the lucky one to have the wood pieces fall onto._

_Dassai spared a lazy glance at the two sets of food that were both equally untouched. He chuckled. "Real similar they are, aren't they? Bet you, he can't make her do as he tells her. She's going to starve and so is he."_

_Tamazuki made no reply to his comment. He had started thinking of how to use this girl for later time already._

_…_

"Not only wouldn't she eat, she wouldn't look at you, wouldn't be anywhere close to you, and, worst of all…" Rikuo dodged the last swing and turned to smile at his murderous looking yokai counterpart. "She wouldn't smile at you anymore."

Silver light flashed at him once more and he blocked it with his own blade. His hands shook from the sheer force of it and Day Rikuo grimaced a little.

"What are you trying to do, provoking me like this?" asked the Nurarihyon, voice cold and even.

"So you admit that you are provoked," said the human, managing a bright smile somehow despite the growing numbness in his fingers.

Night Rikuo's eyes narrowed. He pushed harder, enough that the sharp white of his blade just barely brushed and cut a few strands of brown hair from his head.

"What I'm trying to say is- " he looked right into the other's eyes, "-admit it already that you want her to like you. You as you are. You that are not me. And you as the yokai part of us as one. Not just any yokai that comes to possess me with every nightfall."

_Clang!_

The next instant Day Rikuo found himself flying, his back hitting against the tree trunk hard.

"Ouch…" he groaned, sliding down to sit on the ground. "Your kick is just as bad as grandpa's…"

Night Rikuo looked at him. Then, he sheathed the katana and went to sit on the other side where the sake bottle and cups were.

"Hey," began Day Rikuo.

Silence.

"I don't think she dislikes you, you know."

Silence again.

Day Rikuo looked up. The moon's light was white and cold but, through these gently swaying long branches heavy with pale blooms, its light became tender and warm just like those few, rare smiles she had given him.

He closed his eyes, basking in the memory of the smile that was so very much like the flowers that were blooming all around them.

_"In pale moonlight, the wisteria's scent comes from far away…" _he recited.

From the other side of the tree: "Stop it. You are getting disgusting."

"So says he, who has chosen this place of all places to come calm his wounded heart," mocked Day Rikuo, ducking when the sake cup came flying for his head.

Sitting there a moment longer, the human then picked himself up, dusted his clothes, and went over to the other side where the Nurarihyon was drinking, and sulking.

"I'm sure that elbowing is just her revenge for you kicking her off the tree last time. She may hate 'youkai' but that doesn't mean she really dislikes 'you'. She is an onmyouji and one to the bitter end. So it's easier for her to treat us as though we are two people. But you realize it, don't you, that she's already accepted us as we are. She wouldn't have fought alongside us as she did if it had been otherwise. Nor would she go so far as to tell Tsuchigumo's brother to help us back then."

The yokai was quiet as he looked at the flowers reflecting in his cup.

Day Rikuo smiled and reached for the sake bottle. "Just… tell her the truth next time when you give her the chocolate, all right?"

…

_He found her at the deck, standing at the very front, looking toward the direction they were heading._

_To Kyoto._

_He walked up to her, not the least bit surprised that she didn't notice him. She was so lost in thought that he was sure she would still take no notice even if it was Tsuchigumo that was here right next to her and not him._

_Rikuo sighed. Then, "Oi, Yura."_

_She gave a start and whipped around to the direction of his voice. He flicked at her forehead. Hard._

_"Ouch! What was that for, you stupid yokai!"_

_He leveled a look at her. "I know you don't like me and all but you need to eat. We don't know when the next battle is going to happen, so you have to be ready."_

_She glared at him. "I don't need you to tell me that to know."_

_"Oh really? You don't seem to act it, though," said Rikuo, starting to get irritated._

_Pain flickered across her expression. _

_ Did he flick her forehead too hard? He glanced at the place but because she had her hand over it he couldn't tell._

_"It's not like…"_

_He looked at her, trying to hear what she said. Why did her voice became so quiet all of a sudden?_

_"It's not like I-"_

_And the wind chose that moment to pick up and carry away the rest of what she was saying to him._

_He had put up his hand to block the strong current but when he looked at her again he found she was looking straight at him. Suddenly he was reminded of that day when she confronted him, asking whether he was a human or a youkai._

_Her eyes were just like that time when she was telling him that she was convinced and that she could accept what had happened as it was because it was him._

_The difference was this time she wasn't smiling._

_She looked down, breaking the eye contact. _

_"If we don't reach Kyoto in a few hours I will eat," she said, quietly._

_Then__…_

_Her stomach growled. _

_It growled even louder than last time._

…Silence….

_Rikuo moved to put his hand in his kimono._

_Yura exploded. _

_"T-T-That just now wasn't the sound of my stomach or anything, all right!"_

_And just like that other time, he reached out, a bar of chocolate in his hand._

_"You eat this thing, don't you?" he said, not looking at her. "Have it and then go eat food properly."_

_She blinked at the chocolate, then at him._

_"It's not me," he said with a glare. "It's _him_. I don't know why but he always carries this thing around wherever he goes. It doesn't even taste like food."_

_She continued to stare at him. There was nothing about her that suggested she would accept this chocolate bar from him soon.  
_

_He was getting irritated. How long was she going to stare?  
_

_Just when he couldn't take it anymore, he turned, opening his mouth to tell her to stop__…_  


_It happened._

_Slowly, her hand reached out and, from his hand, took the chocolate bar from him. _

_Meeting his eyes fully, she smiled that same smile she had given him that night and said to him, with that same gentle voice, "Thank you, Nura-kun."_

_'Wisteria smile', the word came to his mind then. It was the name given to her smile by his other self. Warm and kind like the sun on the petals, sweet and pure as the blooms that came cascading down like the frailest of dream. He had laughed at him when he heard it, calling it an exaggerating description. But now__…_

_Rikuo stared at her, not saying a word._

_"Nura-kun?"_

_His hand moved, reaching out. _

_His long fingers hovered about her cheek, so close to touching.  
_

_Then...  
_

Flick.

_"…%$#!" hand over her forehead, she couldn't even voice the pain. Did this jerk know that this was the exact spot where rocks had hit her in the fight with Hiruko earlier? She's going to kill him… She's going to really kill him after defeating Seimei!_

_"Eat the food. Your stomach's rumbling is annoying," he said and turned away, leaving._

_Flushing with both embarrassment and anger, Yura shouted after him. "You are the worst! I will end you! One of these days, I'm going to end you! And I'm not eating food from you either, you hear me! I _won't_ eat!"_

_…_

"I'm sure she eats the chocolate though," consoled Day Rikuo.

Night Rikuo threw a glare at him and he understood perfectly the message that came with it. Ah…who would expect that the grandson of Nurarihyon, the Third head of the Nura clan, would have such a childish side to him…

_He thinks she will eat the chocolate only because he said it's from me. But who told him to go and tell her that it was me when it was him who brought it with him all along (even though he's not eating it)? And he's one who called her Tsun-Tsun… he should look at himself first…_

"I heard that," said Night Rikuo, growling, red eyes flashing.

"I'm sorry," said his human counterpart, though he didn't sound too apologetic. "I forgot that thinking and speaking out loud is almost the same thing here. I meant what I thought, though," he added, not at all bothered by the murderous intent that was directed at him once more.

The wind rustled the long, hanging branches around them. The blooms murmured of words that only the moon could understand. Petals flew and flowers scattered. Some fell on the ground, some in the lake and some, they let fall and lie there in their opened palms.

Tonight the tree that had blossomed so brilliantly under the bright half-moon was not the weeping cherry tree that they were so used to. Tonight, only for tonight, they would let themselves enjoy the ethereal beauty of the gentle wisteria which they had once had a glimpse of before returning to Ukiyoe that time.

She hadn't seen him off that day and he had a glimpse of her briefly from the already flying Takarabune. The picture of that time was burnt into his memory. The picture of her, in full ceremonial dress of an onmyouji, standing under a lone, flowering tree in the ruined garden, with the cascading blooms hung low, falling about her as though trying to hide her from the world.

The first thought that came to him was the flower suited her. The next was from his human self that was watching with him. From him the words came with the picture of her rare smile. 'Wisteria smile,' he had whispered out.

"I really like her, you know."

The Nurarihyon turned to look at his human self.

He was looking at the flower in his hand, a gentle smile hovering about his mouth. "Keikain-san, I mean. She is hard-working, kind, and tries so hard to become stronger to protect things and people that are important to her. Sometimes I wonder if she realizes that she is a girl and just a middle school student who isn't quite 14 yet." He sighed. "She's so much stronger than me."

The yokai looked at him then at the frail flower lying in his own hand. He wondered if all humans were like these two.

While sharing thought and emotion with his human self, he was still a yokai and sometimes there were things such as these that he couldn't quite comprehend. They thought too many unnecessary thoughts, these humans.

And so, he reached out and hit his human self's head. Hard.

_"…!"_

"Does it matter that she's a girl and the same age as we are? She can hold her own and so can you. And don't you look down on me. On us. We are going to defeat Seimei, remember?"

Feeling the stinging pain at the back of his head with both hands, Rikuo stared at the Nurarihyon who went back to his drinking and ignoring him.

He smiled. "You are right. We're going to defeat Seimei. Together."

Night Rikuo nodded. "That's why, go and make that girl eat."

Day Rikuo blinked. "Huh?"

"We can't have her half-starved as she is. Something might happen and we might need her to kill snakes again, so you go and make sure that she eats enough that her stomach doesn't make any more noises."

"Ha?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. Just go already." That said, he made as though he was about to send him off with a kick.

"I'm going, I'm going! What are you? Grandpa?"

The Nurarihyon laughed. "Tell her I will get her back for that elbow of hers soon."

Rikuo smiled wryly, not sure if he wanted to become a go-between for Keikain-san and himself. It's just too…strange. Well, whatever, it's more important that he went and tried convincing her to eat first.

Night Rikuo watched him leave. When he was sure that he was gone and had taken control of the body properly, he let the smile drop and looked up.

Graceful branches arched long and low, cascading lavender colored blooms around him as though to embrace. The moon's light reached him in tender caresses as the branches swayed with each passing of the wind.

He looked down at the strayed flower that had fallen into his hand. He thought of her smile and his other self's words again.

Yes, the flower became her. It became her perfectly. And one day, he vowed… one day he would have her smiling that smile at _him_.

Bringing the blossom to his lips, he recalled the poem his human self had recited earlier and, against the delicate flower, he murmured.

"_In pale moonlight, the wisteria's scent comes from far away…"_

_Wisteria smile, one day, you will be mine._

...

...

...

**Author's Note:**

In pale moonlight, the wisteria's scent comes from far away - Yosa Buson


	4. 25 sentences

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_25 out of 50 one-sentence themes: first try_

_..._

**#01 – Walking**

She quickened her steps to match his and he slowed to meet hers; some time later, without knowing, that speed became their natural pace.

**#02 – Waltz**

They never learned the steps and even when they did something remotely similar to it, their backs were against each other, Nenekirimaru in his hand and ofuda in hers.

**#03 - Wishes**

Hanging from a slender bamboo branch, one paper read "May Keikain-san's wish comes true", and on another branch close by it, the other paper read "May Nura-kun's wish comes true".

**#04 – Wonder**

_Was this how the mermaid in that fairy tale felt when she made her decision_? thought Yura as she pressed Nenekirimaru to his neck, saying: "This is the end."

**#05 – Worry**

"Just because I'm checking that you are still alive or not doesn't mean I'm worried about you, youkai!"

**#09 – War**

"I'm sorry but I have to go – the supermarket sale starts at 4!"

**#10 - Weddings**

Theirs was the last of all their friends' and it was made to be the grandest because the bridegroom wanted to take revenge on his shy bride who took such a long time to say that one word to him.

**#13 - Bias**

All yokai are evil – especially Nura Rikuo, whom she couldn't be mean to during the day and failed to resist during the night.

**#14 - Burning**

The fever was bad but it wasn't all that bad when he felt her cool hand against his face.

**#15 - Breathing**

When he finally found her in the rubble of that ruined building, her breathing became the most beautiful sound in the world.

**#18 - Balloon**

When asked which color she wanted, she said red without thinking and, upon realizing why, she angrily let it float away toward the night sky, hoping it would burst in his face on his way to the summer festival here.

**#19 - Balcony**

He was climbing up the roots as he should but he lost his grip and fell the moment he saw _her_; nobody ever told him that Keikain-san would do the stand-in for this scene!

**#21 - Quiet**

Rikuo put his finger to his mouth, silencing the half-drunk youkai that chanced to pass by the cherry tree where he was perching, his sleeping wife in his arms.

**#23 - Question**

She never felt the need to ask; she was told often times enough every-day that she almost wished she never heard him saying it to her ear again: "I love you."

**#24 - Quarrel**

Nurarihyon decided that it must have run in the blood when he saw his grandson did the same thing that his son and he himself had done in the past - sitting seiza style in front of a firmly closed door while explaining to the person inside that it was all a misunderstanding.

**#26 – Jump**

"I can come down by myself and… why do you have your arms out like that?"

**#29 - Jewel**

He had long realized that she was no flower that needed care and protection; she was but a crystal that became clearer and finer through time and trials.

**#30 - Just**

"You are a youkai and I am an onmyouji, so what isn't right about me trying to destroy you?"

**#31 - Smirk**

"I thought you were Tanrou, so don't you think it's anything and—and—and…wipe _that_ off your face now! I didn't just kiss you!"

**#33 - Stupidity**

During the day he called her stupid while bandaging her before himself; during the night he called her stupid, after having fallen off the tree, because she asked to change the bandages for him.

**#39 - Share**

"Wait, Keikain-san, that ice-cream I already- Never mind."

**#44 - Near**

"Yes, I know you are in your room in your house in Kyoto but I'm already here, so can you just open the window already?"

**#45 - Natural**

The moment he guided her head to his shoulder and put his hand over her eyes, she reached to clutch at his kimono and let fall the tears that no other was allowed to see.

**#49 - Victory**

Now that the Master of all Youkai, Nurarihyon, was at her mercy, his smile and the fact that he never tried to fight back in the first place made this victory worthless enough to make her cry at the pointlessness of it all.

**#50 - Defeat**

On the ground and with his own blade pressed to his throat, he smiled, accepting his defeat, and reached out to wipe away the tears of her bitter victory, saying: "I hope you are satisfied."

...


	5. Complicated Simplicity Called 'Love' I

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_Complicated Simplicity Called 'Love'  
_

_Chapter 1  
_

_..._

_He stared unbelievingly at the young woman before him._

_She looked right back at him, unafraid if a little uneasy._

_"You don't remember…? You don't know me?"_

_She grimaced at the 'something' in his voice. If she remembered she might perhaps know what it was but since she didn't and so she couldn't. And because she couldn't, she was sorry that it…made him have such a look on his face._

_"I'm sorry."_

…

Without her memories as a Keikain and an onmyouji, Yura was a very normal girl. She smiled a lot and laughed even more – something he didn't see very often when she was herself. It was such a pity. He had always thought that she had nice smiles.

Rikuo watched her from the doorway. Some small yokai had come in to play and she played with them without the least bit of fear and awkwardness. Normally, she would have tried to exorcise any yokai that came in her way but, without those memories, she practically welcomed them and even looked happy to see them.

He had thought that she would have become afraid of yokai like any normal people would. But when his subordinates came toppling into the room due to heavy eavesdropping and she only stared and asked whether she knew them also, he was surprised.

'Aren't you afraid?'

'Of what?'

'They aren't humans.'

'And so aren't you.'

He stared at her. 'So you _can_ tell.'

She thought a moment. 'I suppose I can. Is there a reason that I should be scared? Was I scared of…' she tilted her head to look at him better, considering, '…you and your people before?'

'We are yokai, and no...' his eyes softened as he remembered. 'No, you were never afraid of us.'

"Oi, you lot, what are you doing? Get out already! She has to rest!"

Rikuo started. He didn't notice. When did Zen come? He even passed him into the room already.

"Out, out! And you, stop playing and have your medicine properly! Why can't you take medicine like how you 'devour' food? Drink this! All of it!"

Yura shrank from the large bowl he thrust out at her. "But your medicine tastes horrible! Can't you do something about it? Or did you make it especially bad to spite me?"

Zen glowered at her. "That's right! It's not my job to take care of humans to begin with! If it's not because you saved Rikuo that time, I wouldn't even bother with you, onmyouji girl!"

She laughed. And Rikuo knew she knew Zen wasn't serious.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking the bowl from him. "I will be more careful about taking medicines from now on."

That put Zen in an uncomfortable spot. Obedient patients – particularly one who could admit and apologize so easily – weren't something he's used to.

Zen looked away, his face a curious shade of red. "Good! Don't give me troubles anymore then!"

Yura smiled, and the smile turned wry when she looked at what's in the bowl.

Taking a deep breath, she downed the medicine in one go and, after giving the empty bowl back, fell promptly to the futon.

"It's still…disgusting…" she groaned, putting a hand over her eyes. "I really don't want to know what you put in there, Zen-kun."

"Who said you could call me so familiarly! And stop whining!" he pushed something into her other hand and got up. "Drink a lot of water and get some sleep! Don't let me catch you staying up again or I will make you take something even _more_ disgusting than what you just had!"

His job done, Zen stomped out and closed the paper screen behind him with a snap.

"Having fun, aren't you, Zen?" asked Rikuo, leaning lazily against one wooden column.

The scowl disappeared and was quickly replaced by a smirk. "Why, you jealous, Rikuo?"

"Hardly," he Nurarihyon drawled.

"You can go in now, if you want. It's not like she's going to listen to what I say anyway. Go keep her company, why don't you? Standing and watching here for so long must have given cramps to your legs already. Besides, it's better you than the small ones that will keep her up all night with their games and questions. I will make sure to tell everyone to leave you two alone."

Rikuo glared at him.

Zen chuckled. "I'm going, I'm going! And…" his voice lowered, his eyes serious. "She's a good girl. I don't mind her but I really hope that you aren't going to decide on her, Rikuo."

"Whatever could you be talking about?" murmured Rikuo, pushing himself from the column and went past him. "Thank you for today's work, Zen."

The paper screen slid open and close with a soft hush.

Zen looked out to the crescent moon floating high up in the sky. Really, he truly hoped that Rikuo wouldn't choose this girl. She would bring only complications.

_Not that I won't follow him anyway, whatever choice he decides for himsel_f, thought Zen and turned to walk away. _Just don't regret your decision later, Rikuo_.

…

Hearing the quiet slides of the paper screen, Yura looked up.

"Nura-kun," she smiled.

"You don't have to get up," he said, seeing her pushing herself from the futon. Ah, but she's never one to listen to what people said.

The blanket she had pulled up before fell to her lap. The yukata hid most of them but he knew she's bandaged all over. It had been more than a week already since she had woken up but it wasn't until three days ago that she was able to move and not till yesterday that her injured hands had healed enough that she gained control over them to feed herself.

"What are you eating now?"

"A candy, I think. Zen-kun started giving some to me after I complained about his medicine. Do you want some? They are honey flavor."

"...No." He pulled his haori off and gave her.

As though it was the most natural thing in the world to do, she took it and, with some difficultly, put it around her shoulders.

"Your brother visited today."

She looked at him. "My brother?"

"His name is Keikain Ryuuji. When he came, you were still resting. He will come see you again tomorrow. He wants to take you back to Kyoto with him as soon as you are better."

"Keikain Ryuuji… Keikain Ryuuji…" she murmured, frowning as she tried to remember. "Ryuuji-niisan… Ryuuji-niichan…"

Rikuo waited.

After a moment, Yura sighed. "The name sounds familiar but, I don't remember him either. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." He probably couldn't quite accept it himself if she were to remember that sadist of a brother and yet forgetting all about him.

"I will get to see him tomorrow?" she asked.

"Only if you want."

Silence. During this time she looked at him, considering him who wouldn't look at her.

Then, "Let me see him."

He made a sound, something between a grunt and a snort, and she chuckled.

She had no idea why he should feel…'uneasy' at her seeing her brother. The name didn't bring any bad feeling to her. Well, there was a _little_ apprehension there but she didn't feel that it was something she should be worrying about. This wasn't someone she needed to feel too cautious around. At least that's what her instinct told her.

_But just in case…_

"You will be with me when I see him, won't you?"

He turned to her. Surprise was clear in those red eyes.

Yura smiled.

Rikuo frowned, looking at her searchingly. Then, with a careless shrug, said, "If I feel like it."

She lifted a hand to her mouth, hiding her giggles behind the white sleeve.

What a dishonest man! She remembered stories that the small yokai told her and wondered if 'Keikain Yura' was really worse than he was. He had called her 'tsun-tsun' several times back in those years and now he started to become one himself. For another hundredth time she wondered… what were they to each other? And could that had anything to do with her losing her memories and her current condition now?

"Your…hair has gotten quite long," he said after a while.

She looked up, blinking. "Don't I always have long hair?"

The red shade of his eyes deepened. "No. You used to wear your hair short. You had been such a tomboy and one so lacking in feminine charms to the last day you left this town."

"I used to live here?" she asked, surprised. She was told that she had been here but she didn't think that she actually lived here. "For how long? Why did I leave?"

From what she gathered, she was an onmyouji from Kyoto who came here to train and had been around exterminating yokai. She fought a few battles with him against some really impressive ayakashi. Some of those were Hagoromo-gitsune and…Nue, was it? They defeated them and then… well, the story sort of ended there. She wasn't sure what happened to her and him after that. All this, she had listened with great interest since it sounded like one of those fairy tale stories that it's almost not quite real. She believed it, however. She never felt a moment of doubt as she heard each tale out. If they were truly just stories, then they were real stories that she had lived and experienced through and through. At least, she felt it so.

Rikuo looked at her a moment longer then got up. He walked to the closet at the other end of the room and, from it, took out a long kimono.

Yura watched him, not quite understanding. He's lending her his haori, so he's cold? But then, wasn't that a _woman's_ kimono?

He came back to her, put the kimono over her (even covering her head), then she felt herself being lifted.

Lifted? Was he carrying her?

"Nura-kun, where are we going?" she asked, confused but not quite alarmed.

"I want to sit outside," was his reply.

And they did sit outside. On a tree. An old willow tree that was just outside of her room.

Why on a tree? she wondered but decided not to ask. Maybe it's all part of the story that he's about to tell her.

Perching on a large branch, he sat comfortably with his back against the trunk and her sitting in his lap, leaning against him.

He adjusted the kimono to wrap more securely around her. And then, she felt, his arms came closing about her in a warm and gentle hug.

Everything felt so familiar that it's just very natural for her to rest her head there in the crook of his neck, relaxing completely.

Rikuo held her just so. Like this, it's almost like nothing had ever happened between them. It was as though they were back to those brief days of happiness where both chose to forget about the heavy responsibilities for a while.

Their last days together before they let go of one another.

Breathing out a long sigh, he looked to the crescent moon in the sky and began.

"You transferred to Ukiyoe during our first year. At that time, we were both thirteen…"

...


	6. Complicated Simplicity Called 'Love' II

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nurarihyon no Mago

...

**Black and White...and Something In-between  
**

...

_Complicated Simplicity Called 'Love'  
_

_Chapter 2  
_

_..._

Her brother visited her the next afternoon. He turned out to one very suspicious-looking person.

Ryuuji looked her up and down and she did the same to him. She couldn't believe she had a brother who walked around town wearing a cloak and a kimono. She wondered if he also wore geta.

"You look well, Yura," he said after a while.

"I'm quite well," she replied in the same even tone. With those eyes and frown and face, he could intimidate and scare quite many people but, somehow, to her, he wasn't all that frightening.

"Come back to Kyoto with me," he was straight to the point.

"I won't," and so was she.

"You don't have a choice in this matter," he said.

"Maybe so if I remember who you are. Since I don't, I feel no obligation to do as you tell me," she countered.

His sharp eyes narrowed dangerously. "You don't seem like you don't remember anything to me."

She looked at him innocently. "I don't remember you. Is there anything else?"

Despite it being spring at this time and rather warm on that day, the air in the room was quite, _quite_ cold.

Inwardly, Yura wondered if this was how they had always interacted with each other. Her ability to match him word for word surprised her (and instinct kept ringing the bell, telling her not to let him know it).

Under his scrutiny, she continued to sip her tea coolly.

"Your engagement with Kouzuki has been called off. Come back to Kyoto."

She couldn't stop her reaction in time and knew it was _just_ what he wanted.

Choking on the tea, her tongue burned, she dropped the cup in her surprise.

Rikuo was by her side at once. His arms came around her, supporting her, as she was caught in a fit of violent coughs. Vaguely, she wondered where the cup had gone to. She just knew that timing of his was intentional, so if the cup's still around she would very much like to use it to throw at his head.

"I -" _cough, cough_ "-I never heard of this. I was e-engaged?"

From behind three ofuda he had cast out to block the cup and tea which had been sent flying 'unintentionally' in his direction, Ryuuji said. "Your engagement was decided since a while back. You had asked that we waited till you graduated high school and we did. Then, about two weeks ago while we were preparing for the ceremony, this guy came and… I suppose you can say that he ruined your marriage."

Yura turned to stare at Rikuo. He was half-holding, half-supporting her and he met her brother's eyes very calmly.

"Don't speak as though it was all my fault. If you weren't hoping for it to be ruined yourself, you wouldn't have sent me the 'invitation', would you, Ryuuji-san?"

Ryuuji didn't answer, but the faint glint of satisfaction in his eyes confirmed it.

"What happened to them after that?" asked Rikuo, helping Yura to sit properly again.

"Back to where they came from, of course."

"That's all?" Rikuo looked at him, clearly not believing.

"What else do you think could have happened?" asked Ryuuji, looking as innocent as any time he spout a lie.

"…I see. Will they find someone for her again?"

"Not any time soon. There's the repair work and things to discuss about. The situation had become quite troublesome. And I didn't expect her to go losing her memory like this." He shifted his gaze to the confused Yura. "…Although it's probably better since she won't go causing more troubles this way."

Rikuo was quiet.

"Anyway. With or without memory, she has to go back by next week. That's the longest I can give you. There are things that need to be settled. She may not remember it but this doesn't make her any less the 28th head of the Keikain family. _You_ should understand it very well yourself."

Ryuuji got up.

"Return her by then. If not… well, you know how she is and what she will be doing to you when she remembers and learns of this. I'm going. Try to get your memory back before you come to Kyoto, Yura. I'm not teaching you things from the beginning again."

With that, Ryuuji left.

Silence fell.

Things were more complicate than she expected and even with all these bits and pieces of information she still couldn't remember a thing about herself or what had just taken place to have caused her to lose her memory. If anything, she had become even more confused.

She felt her throbbing temple with a hand, trying to think, trying to remember.

"Don't force yourself."

She turned and found he was looking at her, his brown eyes kind and gentle.

"I'm sure you will remember everything eventually. But don't push yourself too hard at this time when you are not quite recovered yet." He took her hand in his, holding it. "One thing at a time, all right?"

She looked at him and felt her anxiety dissipated.

No… it wasn't because she was reassured and so she could let go of the worries. Her letting go of those worries – her _forgetting_ her own worries – was all because of what she saw in his eyes. There was something there. Something much darker, much heavier and…

Something much, much sadder.

"Nura-kun," she reached up and put her bandaged hands on each side of his face. "Is this…the continuation of the story from last night?"

Putting his hands over hers, he closed his eyes and nodded.

"So it is."

…

_Most of what he told her, she already knew from the small yokai that came to play before. However, their stories weren't as detailed and so she never knew learned much about her brothers, her family, their friends, and their battles together which had lasted for two years._

"_After that you came back to school and finished the rest of the middle school time here."_

"_Hmm," she mumbled sleepily, hiding her yawn behind her hand. "And then? Did I study high school with you guys, too?"_

"_No, you went back to Kyoto to study there and train to become the 28__th__ head of your family_

"_Head of the…family?" she repeated, very close to sleeping. "I was such an important person?"_

_There was a low chuckle somewhere above her. "Haven't you been listening? With all that has happened so far, can't you tell already that you are a very important person to many people?"_

_She snuggled into his warmth. "All right. So I returned to Kyoto to study and train. And then? Did I come back to visit? Did you and everyone come to see me?"_

_He pulled her closer to him. "Yes. We visited each other occasionally. But as time passed, we both became busier and busier. You were preparing to become the next head and I was extending my territory. There were times when we lost contact of each other but when I heard of you again, you had already become a fine onmyouji and the head of your family. You were busy most of the time and we didn't get to meet you so often anymore. But since I had more time on my side, I went to see you sometimes."_

_She giggled. "Don't tell me you came visiting in this form? Really? Didn't I dislike yokai? Did I actually see you?"_

_He chuckled. "Of course, you did. Rather unwillingly so, too."_

"_I think so. Did I start to like you then?"_

_A pause. "I don't know. Did you?"_

"_I don't remember but I think I liked you. I must have really liked you. I couldn't have felt this comfortable around you otherwise. Hey, Nura-kun…"_

_His voice was curiously hoarse when he spoke again but she didn't notice. "What?"_

"_Did you…" she let out a big, sleepy yawn. "…Did you like me, too?"_

_His arms tightened around her. _

_If… _

_If only he could hear these words sooner. If, back then, both of them weren't so stubborn and were more honest with their feelings, maybe things might not have turned out the way it did._

_Her breathing had become slow and even. He knew she had fallen asleep already but he answered her anyway._

_That which he couldn't tell her at that time._

"_I liked you. I had always liked you. Even now." _

_Smoothing back her hair, he pressed a soft kiss to her bandaged forehead. _

"_I like you, Yura."_

…

Warm sunlight streamed into the room through the opened paper screens. The breeze stole in now and again, carrying with it the sweet scent of flowers blooming profusely in the garden.

It's spring. But both of their times seemed to have stopped since that night in autumn when falling leaves painted the lake red and gentians cried countless blue tears to the wind.

Sitting opposite each other were Rikuo and Yura. He poured fresh tea into each cup then gave one to her.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile.

He smiled back and took a cup himself.

Silence fell once more. This time she was waiting and he thinking of how to tell her of the past that should be buried away and forgotten a long time ago.

"Do you remember I told you last night about how I started to visit you?"

She looked up at him, and nodded.

He smiled. "It's more convenient for the both of us that I visited you during night time – even though you absolutely hated it in the beginning."

Yura chuckled. She remembered he had mentioned it.

Rikuo looked into his cup and continued.

"We saw each other about three-four times a month and usually we spent time talking and discussing about how things had progressed, the situation between yokai and humans, and possible things we could do to improve. Since you were just made the family head at that time, there were always things you had to do and places you had to go. At the end of the day, if you were allowed to come back at all, you always came back dead tired. And I had to put you to bed myself every time I came to visit and found you sleeping on the floor."

If she was drinking at the time he was telling her this, what happened earlier with her brother before would have repeated itself.

Yura stared at him. He put her to bed? He said he put her to bed and he was saying it like he was commenting about how the weather was good today. Did he really just say that he put her to bed?

Rikuo chuckled. "And so I have made my confession. Just don't hit _me_ when you remember everything, all right? Go hit my other self. _He_ was the one who got all the privileges, including dates."

"Dates?" How was that possible?

"I'd like to think so anyway. If I didn't 'force' you to come out – with the excuse of 'night patrol' – you would probably be doing nothing but training and studying more on the books that your brother had dumped you with." He shook his head.

"Night patrol? What is that?" she asked.

"Just going around, seeing that things are in the right order," he replied. "Here in Ukiyoe, I usually went strolling, patrolling, by myself since it's more convenient that way. But after I used it as an excuse to get you to come out and explore the city with me, it's just not quite what it used to mean anymore. You really didn't know much about the city that you were living in. That is, knowing it as how it normally was, like how normal people saw and lived in it. You were a sheltered girl, Keikain-san, believe it or not. But the so-called patrol went very well because your curiosity and enthusiasm always got the better of you. And I have to say," he laughed a little, "you were all too willing to trust. No wonder your brother loved teasing you so much back then; your reactions were just too funny."

Yura smiled wryly into her empty cup. He could say such things because she didn't have her memory. Now that she knew things she didn't' before, she was quite sure that after getting her memory back the first thing she would do was to exorcise him and her brother together.

"Those times we spent together then were some of the happiest times I have had…"

She looked up at him. The smile still hovered about his mouth but that same sad light she had seen earlier had entered his eyes again. And because she couldn't help herself, she reached out and put her hand over his.

Rikuo was startled. He looked at her and saw concern reflecting clear in those eyes. In the past, there were times he saw such look in her eyes but, due to their different reasons, she would never honestly comfort him and he would never let her know how he understood what she couldn't say but still longed to hear them anyway.

Putting his other hand over hers, he gave her a gentle smile.

"I never had the chance to tell you but let me tell you now. Thank you, Keikain-san. For everything before that time and after. Thank you for coming to Ukiyoe. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for trusting me, protecting me, and fighting with me. For being in my life at all, thank you, Keikain-san."

Tears traced down her cheeks quietly as she listened. Even without memory, she could tell how much she must have liked this person back then. Such warmth and pain that she was feeling right now…. And such a strong wish that she had….

_If only… If only I can become 'her' for you right now…_

Rikuo reached out and brushed her tears away with his fingers.

"I believe," he said, taking her hand in both of his, "it was during these times that we spent together that I started to like you. I didn't quite realize it yet, then. I'm not sure but maybe it was because we were so close and so similar in many ways… that I forgot that this wouldn't go on forever."

He breathed a long, quiet sigh.

"Then, before I knew it, almost a year had passed by. We lost contact for a short time, preparing for our own graduations. When it was over, I went to see you. You were waiting for me, which was a surprise. You asked me to take you out in the Oboroguruma that I had ridden there and that was also another surprise. Then, you showed me a bottle of sake you brought with you, saying it was to celebrate our graduations…"

"I don't really sound like me," laughed Yura through the last of her tears. "At least, I think so, judging from what I have heard so far anyway."

"It's not normal and I realized it," he admitted. "You weren't trying to pretend that it was. Anyway. Since it's been some time we had seen each other, we both had quite a few things we wanted to tell. We spent those hours in the sky, talking and drinking. Then, when it's finally time to return, I saw you back as usual and was about to leave when you called out to me."

His grip about her hand tightened and he was quiet a moment.

Then, when he spoke again, pain and sadness were so clear in his voice that she could feel her heart breaking right along with his broken one.

"Keikain-san…I don't know if I can ever explain to you how I felt when you said those words to me that time but…"

"_This is the last time. Don't come here anymore."_

"You were really quite cruel."

"_Goodbye, Nura-kun."_


End file.
